It’s Your Business: The Cage all set to play ball
A new indoor baseball and softball training center called The Cage plans to open Oct. 6 in Champaign.
Located at 2815 Hundman Drive, it will offer batting cages, dirt pitcher mounds and open spaces for drills, owner Shawn Tabeling said.
Two high school baseball coaches will provide lessons at The Cage: Tabeling’s brother, Tuscola coach Ryan Tabeling, and St. Joseph-Ogden coach Brad Allen.
Shawn Tabeling also owns Homestead Builders and will have an office for that business in the same building, he said.
For information about individual lessons and team rentals, call 722-9376 or see the Web site at www.cuatthecage.com.
BBQ-Monticello style
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A new barbecue restaurant called Oinkers BBQ has opened at 112 S. Charter St., Monticello.
It serves pulled and chopped pork, smoked turkey and beef brisket sandwiches, ribs, rib tips and a bunch of side dishes including beans, potato salad, cornbread, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese and jambalaya. Dessert is an enormous piece of chocolate and yellow cake with peanut butter, chocolate icing, caramel and other toppings. One piece feeds about four, said one of the owners, Kim Dobson.
Dobson also owns Dobbers Gym in Monticello. His partner in the restaurant, Brad Noe, is also a sales estimator for Premier Print Group, Champaign.
Restaurant hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Carry-out and catering is available, Dobson said.
The phone number is 762-4227.
New life for old shoes
The Shoe Carnival store in Champaign and other stores in the Shoe Carnival chain will be collecting used shoes in good condition for charity Wednesday through Sept. 24.
All shoes will go to Soles4Souls, a national charity that has distributed more than 3.3 million pairs of shoes to needy people in more than 60 countries.
Customers bringing in shoes will receive a $5 coupon off their own shoe purchase, Shoe Carnival says.
Customers can also make a $2 donation to help buy a new pair of shoes for some 300 million children around the world.
The Champaign store is at 2105 N. Prospect Ave.
Store to show off new stuff
World Harvest International and Gourmet Foods at 519 E. University Ave., C, has finished its remodeling and expansion and will celebrate it starting this Friday through the end of next week.
“We’ll have a lot of samples daily, and Saturdays we’ll have extended tastings,” said owner Mohammad Al-Heeti.
There will also be drawings for prizes, he said.
The store has more space now, along with new refrigeration equipment and expanded product lines. Among the new items are more frozen and refrigerated foods and more meats, including buffalo, elk, lamb and goat, Al-Heeti said.
The store also sells ready-to-eat items at its deli and wants to add some tables for dining in, but is waiting on the city’s permission for that, he said.
Urbana car dealer expands
Vine Street Motor Co. in Urbana has a new location in Rantoul.
B&B Enterprises of C-U Inc. has opened another Vine Street Motor Co. location at 600 W. Liberty, Rantoul, said Stan Blacker, president and CEO.
The Rantoul location has about 30 cars and trucks, on- and off-road golf carts and Avanti scooters, he said.
The general managers are Dominic Specchio and Matt McClain.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
In addition to Vine Street Motor Co., B&B Enterprises of C-U is the parent company of B&B Finance Company, Vine Street Properties and Illini Oil Change, all based in Urbana.
Diet business making changes
The Reasonable Diet, operated by diet coach and columnist Sandra Ahten, has changed its coaching services. Ahten says clients now meet with her in an eight-week program called Sure Success, and then are eligible to enter a graduate program of Reasonable Diet support groups.
Her new structure will allow her to work with each client individually to create a diet that fits their lifestyle and still give members long-term support at affordable prices, she said. Successful clients will help out with the graduate support groups, which are offered at the Champaign office or on phone conference lines.
Pre-enrollment for Sure Success groups is required and begins Tuesday and Sept. 9. For more information, call 367-6345 or see the Web site at www.reasonablediet.com.
Are you opening a new business or changing something at your existing business? Debra Pressey can be reached by phone at 351-5229, or 800-252-3346; by e-mail at dpressey@news-gazette.com, or regular mail at The News-Gazette, c/o It’s Your Business column, P.O. Box 677, Champaign, IL 61824-0677.